Athough the scoreline could have been a lot bigger if not for the right post, left post, crossbar, and the efforts of Jamaican ‘keeper Dwayne Miller, who made some acrobatic stops.

Below are player ratings for the match.

Goalkeeper:

Tim Howard - 6 - Did everything has was called upon to do and was rarely challenged until later in the second half when Jamaica played with a sense of urgency and gave the Americans a few nervy moments. However, the most dangerous attack that Jamaica could muster was a header off a cross from the right flank that forward Ryan Johnson misfired wide.

Defenders:

Fabian Johnson - 7.5 - The Hoffenheim defender has fit in to the US team so well that it is difficult to believe he still has won fewer than 10 caps for the National Team. Johnson was all that American fans have been hoping for in a left back; solid at the back and effective going forward. Johnson's contributions to the attack were hindered only by lackluster offensive performances by Jose Torres and Brek Shea, upfield.

Carlos Bocanegra - 6.5 - The veteran US captain stepped in to provide the stout defensive performance that fans have come to expect from him. Bocanegra's reliability brings a calming presence to the backline that can be lacking with Clarence Goodson. However, the defender can never seem to resist the launch a few long balls to nowhere, even against a bunkering Jamaican squad that offered little resistance or pressure upfield in the first half.

Geoff Cameron - 7 - It has been quite a summer for Cameron, having staked a claim to a starting role both for the US National Team and for Stoke City. The former Houston Dynamo defender had another solid game, indicating that he will not be relinquishing his place in the starting lineup anytime soon. Although he did have one hiccup, getting turned on a Jamaican counter-attack in the second half, Cameron defended well and was strong on the ball.

Steve Cherundolo - 7.5 - The ever-reliable right back was a welcome sight after sitting out the match in Kingston. Cherundolo spent the night racing up and down the right flank, combining well with Graham Zusi offensively and making key interceptions defensively. At 33, fans have been predicting Cherundolo's demise for several years, but the consistently reliable Hannover man did not show any signs of slowing down tonight, even against a speedy team like Jamaica.

Midfielders:

Danny Williams - 8 - When finally given an opportunity to start in his natural position, Williams turned in a commanding performance. He was quick to cut out passes and was strong defensively, but the Hoffenheim midfielder was also impressively deft on the ball and tidy in possession. Williams does not have the instincts to generate offense on the flanks, but he showed passing range and vision from a deep-lying position. The sole blemish on his performance was that he tired down the stretch and his influence on the match was reduced.

Jermaine Jones - 5.5 - Always active, Jones' greatest enemy is usually himself. He is always able to cover a lot of ground, but he can be reckless on the offensive side of the ball. He improved his turnover rate from his abysmal performance on Thursday, but his contributions will always lack the composure provided by Michael Bradley in a similar role. Jones is an agent for chaos, with all the good and bad that that entails.

Graham Zusi - 6.5 - This match represented Zusi's best chance to impress and the midfielder made the most of it. While he makes his home in the center of the park at Sporting Kansas City, Zusi did well on the right and was an important piece of the USA's dominant possession. Zusi is not a true winger and at times that showed, but he was able to link the deep-lying midfielders to forwards with good movement and a pleasingly quick speed of thought. He was unlucky not to score on two occasions.

Jose Torres - 5 - A surprisingly anonymous game for Torres considering the amount of possession for the US. Torres was again miscast as a wide midfielder, a position that does not make the most of his strengths and exposes some of his weaknesses. In tonight's match, Torres kept the ball well, but was not always able to move the ball forward, a problem that can be chalked up to his lack of familiarity with flank play. Still, he worked hard and was able to open channels for Fabian Johnson.

Forwards:

Clint Dempsey - 5.5 - After sitting out at Fulham for a month before his transfer to Tottenham Hotspur, nobody expected Dempsey to play 180 minutes during the September World Cup qualifiers. Nonetheless, "Deuce" managed to make it through the two matches without being substituted by Jurgen Klinsmann. Nonetheless, his lack of match fitness showed tonight; his second half contributions were understandably limited by his energy level. Also,, his touch was not up to his usual standards.

Herculez Gomez - 6.5 - A hard-working performance. Gomez got the crucial goal, scoring off of a free kick - which must have been satisfying to the US after Thursday's match. Oddly, Gomez's effort was not among the strongest of the night for the US. However, after several first-half stellar saves, Miller's goalkeeping clinic abruptly reached a conclusion, although he still managed to get his fingers on the ball.

Substitutes:

Brek Shea - 4 - The decision to bring Shea on for Torres made sense at the time, but the young winger failed to execute against the speedy Jamaicans. Shea was indecisive in key moments and failed to do much to rejuvenate the American attack, which was flagging at the time of his introduction.

Maurice Edu - 6 - Edu was brought on to strengthen the center of the park, which had weakened somewhat as Williams began to tire. He covered ground as tenaciously as ever and helped solidify the team's defense, but still had a few of the maddening simple giveaways that have long prevented Edu from being a considered an elite US player.

Jozy Altidore - 4.5 - Altidore was brought on to help the kill the game, but instead provided a series of giveaways. Jozy did not look especially sharp; it was not a performance to remember for the AZ Alkmaar striker.

I wll say that one of Jozy's giveaways was more on Williams. As Jozy collected the ball Williams was starting to run to open space on the right, but inexplicably pulled up(more because he is naturally defensive minded) Jozy saw that he was making a move and then subsequentally passed to the open space. But as previously stated Williams pulled up and stopped running down the right. Any other offensive RW would have kept on running into the space, and it would have been a perfect pass from Jozy. Should Jozy have held up the ball better, probably. Jozy it seemed wanted to get the second goal while his teammates were content to just sit back. Everyone was stating why the U.S. was sitting on the lead and not going for a second goal; well, Jozy was one of the few that was trying for a second goal. I do think Jozy has things to work on, and if Klinsmann is going to continue to use him as a sub; it would probably be better to make Jozy one of the first subs, so he can work his way into the game. With that being said here is my 23 man roster for the October qualies.

With the exception of the rating for Edu (which confounds me, given his unforced turnovers and questionable spacing), this is the first set of ratings I've seen today that match what I saw last night. Other analysts (SI, MLSSoccer, and ESPN) have over-valued Dempsey and Torres, while under-valuing Fabian Johnson.

Overall, very persuasive and justifiable ratings.

John D. Halloran

Wednesday September 12, 2012 1:16 pm

Good ratings, except Jozy. Played 10 minutes, gave the ball away repeatedly. And stupidly. Tried a backheel - fail. Instead of standing on the ball in the corner on a short corner, tried to pass it to the middle - fail. As big and strong as he is, he should have done better to kill the game. The U.S. was somewhat desperately holding onto the lead and needed their forwards to HOLD THE BALL. Jozy = 2. At best.

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